The Good Word

Now is the time that college football fans across the country begin to make plans for the college bowl season. We are fortunate at Georgia Tech to be eligible for our 10th straight postseason trip.

One of the things that has changed over the years is how teams are selected for bowl games. In the “old” days, smoke-filled rooms and backdoor politics ruled the day. However, today with the conference bowl agreements, the process is a bit more transparent.

For Georgia Tech this year, the formula is simple: win the ACC Championship and our team spends a great week preparing to play in the 72nd Orange Bowl Classic. This would be the 40th anniversary of Tech’s last appearance in this legendary bowl. However, should we not make that game, it becomes important that we show bowl organizers that the Tech Nation can travel and support our Jackets. Earlier this month you were sent a notification that included all of our bowl possibilities. We need your help in completing this form, either online or by mail, so we can have good information on our ability to support the bowls in the ACC alliance. The more tickets we can sell in advance, the better position I will have in discussing our possible location for the holidays. I urge you to discuss your plans with friends and family and return the bowl application to our ticket office by the Friday deadline. Or, you can bring your completed application to Saturday’s game and drop it off at the ticket office on your way into the stadium.

Our team is having a tremendous season, and a wonderful bowl experience awaits our young men. I hope you and your family will join us this bowl season and show the country that Tech fans are always there to support our team.

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Sales are going well for the ACC Championship game on Dec. 2. Given the circumstances of the other division, we have a great head start on the ticket sales and other arrangements. As of this morning, we’ve already sold over 10,000 tickets, and they’re going fast! I know we will have a tremendous crowd in Jacksonville, looking forward to our first outright ACC championship since 1990.

By the way, for those of you who have tried to call the ticket office, we appreciate your patience during this time of very heavy telephone traffic. The Institute is currently in the process of updating all the phone systems on campus. Once this is completed, calls will be held until an customer service representative is available. Currently customers are receiving a busy signal after five calls are being handled. We appreciate your understanding as we continue with our successes here at Georgia Tech.

HONOR OUR SENIORS

Let’s make sure we have a great crowd and an incredible atmosphere for Saturday’s game against Duke, the final home game for our 11 seniors. Please be in your seats by 1:15 p.m. for the pregame senior ceremony so we can give these young men the send-off that they deserve.

Finally, our volleyball team has recovered from a slow start and put together an impressive, seven-match winning streak. They look to finish strong and earn an NCAA bid, so please support our team this weekend as they host Boston College Friday and Maryland Saturday, both at 7 p.m. at O’Keefe Gymnasium.

Again, thank you for your positive response to “The Good Word.” We welcome your feedback at goodword@athletics.gatech.edu While I cannot guarantee a personal response to every email that we receive, please know that they will all be read, so I do encourage your continued participation in this process. Some of your questions could become topics for future issues of The Good Word.

I also encourage you to share this letter with any Tech fan who may not have access to the Internet. Our goal is to inform and engage as many Yellow Jacket supporters as we possibly can.

I want to personally thank you for your continued support of Georgia Tech Athletics as we move forward with our vision for excellence.